The Circle and The Star is published in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Robert Desnos, the great French surrealist. The poems in this volume are from collections of poetry written by Desnos for the children of his friends: Daniel, the son of Darius Milhaud, and Tristan and Hyacinthe, the children of Lisa and Paul Deharme. Desnos made an illustrated edition for each child. The eighteen poems (three sets of six poems each), to our knowledge, have not been previously published in an English translation. The two poems included in this issue of The Drunken Boat were written for Daniel Milhaud in 1939.

The publication is a letterpress printed, handbound hardcover book containing the eighteen poems in bilingual form. The book also contains four hand-printed original woodcuts, including a portrait of Desnos, and an afterword by the translator, Todd Sanders, as well as annotated notes. The book is an art edition with a hundred copies, each signed by the translator.

Todd Sanders is a poet and graphic designer living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has previously published two books of poetry with Air and Nothingness Press. He is also the founder and publisher of two websites. French literature features biographies and works from most of the great French surrealists, as well as others. This site was chosen "The Best American Web Site About French Culture" by the French Embassy. Sanders has recently started an online center for Gidean studies featuring works, commentary and biography of the famous French writer, Andre Gide.
The 64 page limited-edition hardcover letterpress book is available only from Air and Nothingness Press or by contacting Todd Sanders. The price is $65 plus shipping.